Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili
Peppers (also sometimes shortened to the "Chili Peppers" or
abbreviated as "RHCP") are an American rock band formed in Los
Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an
emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk rock and
psychedelic rock. When played live, they incorporate many aspects of jam band
due to the improvised nature of much of their performances. Currently, the band
consists of founding members Anthony Kiedis (vocals) and Michael
"Flea" Balzary (bass), longtime drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist
Josh Klinghoffer, who joined in late 2009, following the departure of John
Frusciante. Red Hot Chili Peppers have won seven Grammy Awards, and have become
one of the best-selling bands of all time, selling over 80 million records
worldwide. The Red Hot Chili Peppers came in at # 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest
Artists of Hard Rock. The Chili Peppers ranked # 72 on VH1's 100 Sexiest
Artists, as well as placing # 128 on the Top Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years
chart. In 2012, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The
band's original line-up featured guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack
Irons, alongside Kiedis and Flea.

Because of
commitments to other bands, Slovak and Irons did not play on the band's debut
album, The Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984). Cliff Martinez was the drummer for the
first two records (Irons played on the third), and guitarist Jack Sherman
played on the first. Slovak performed on two albums with the band (the second
and third), Freaky Styley (1985) and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987); he died
of a heroin overdose in 1988. As a result of the death of his friend, drummer
Irons chose to depart from the group. Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist DeWayne
McKnight was brought in to replace Slovak though his tenure was short and he
was replaced by John Frusciante in 1988. Former Dead Kennedys drummer D.H.
Peligro was brought in to replace Irons though after a short tenure with the
band he was out and replaced by Chad Smith that same year. The line-up of Flea,
Kiedis, Frusciante and Smith was the longest-lasting, and recorded five studio
albums starting with 1989's Mother's Milk. In 1990, the group signed with
Warner Bros. Records and recorded under producer Rick Rubin the album Blood
Sugar Sex Magik (1991), which became the band's first commercial success.
Frusciante grew uncomfortable with the success of the band and left abruptly in
1992, in the middle of the world tour.

After recruiting
guitarist Arik Marshall to complete the tour, Kiedis, Flea, and Smith employed
Jesse Tobias though after a few weeks he was replaced by Dave Navarro of Jane's
Addiction for their subsequent album, One Hot Minute (1995). Although
commercially successful, the album failed to match the critical or popular
acclaim of Blood Sugar Sex Magik, selling less than half as much as its
predecessor. Navarro was fired from the band in 1998. Frusciante, fresh out of drug
rehabilitation, rejoined the band that same year at Flea's request. The
reunited quartet returned to the studio to record Californication (1999), which
became the band's biggest commercial success with 15 million copies worldwide.
That album was followed three years later by By the Way (2002), and then four
years later by the double album Stadium Arcadium (2006), their first number one
album in America. After a world tour, the group went on an extended hiatus.
Frusciante announced he was amicably leaving the band to focus on his solo
career. Josh Klinghoffer, who had worked both as a sideman for the band on
their Stadium Arcadium tour and on Frusciante's solo projects, joined as lead
guitarist in 2009 and the band spent the next year and a half recording their
tenth studio album, I'm with You, which was released in 2011 and topped the
charts in 18 different countries and included a world tour which lasted almost
two years. The band plans to start recording their eleventh studio album in
late 2013 or early 2014.

Greatest Hits
(Red Hot Chili Peppers album)

All tracks
written by Kiedis/Frusciante/Flea/Smith except where noted

No. Title

1. "Under
the Bridge" (from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik)

2. "Give
It Away" (from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik)

3. "Californication"
(from the album Californication)

4. "Scar
Tissue" (from the album Californication)

5. "Soul
to Squeeze" (from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik)

6. "Otherside"
(from the album Californication)

7. "Suck
My Kiss" (from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik)

8. "By the Way" (from the album By the
Way)

9. "Parallel
Universe" (from the album Californication)

10. "Breaking
the Girl" (from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik)

11. "My
Friends" (from the album One Hot Minute) (Kiedis/Flea/Navarro/Smith)